OUGD401 - Study Task 04 - Structuring the Essay

ESSAY QUESTION:

TO WHAT EXTENT HAS POST=MODERNISM IMPACTED GRAPHIC DESIGN?

Essay structure:

Hypothesis

Many people argue that post-modernism has had very little, if any impact on Graphic Design practice since it first broke onto the scene in the 1970s. This movement is highly topical and has been the focus of much debate for at least 50 years. I aim to investigate within this essay the degree to which these views are true. Post-modernism within the realms of graphic art and communication is difficult to define. This is because post-modernist culture facilitated so much self expression, exploration and experimentation, resulting in a style that isn't as instantly 'recognisable' as say an example of highly modernist Bauhaus design. For me, this is what makes post-modernism so enticing and intriguing as a movement, ideology and philosophy. It is debated that postmodern style and culture died out in the early part of the 21^st century, leaving us in a time now which apparently has even less direction and is even harder to define. I want to examine the idea that post-modernism in fact, never went away, to see if it is fair to say that we are currently experiencing a post-post modern era. I aim to investigate the extent to which post-modern ideologies and philosophies continue to consciously or subconsciously influence contemporary graphic design practice.

Introduction – explain what post-modernism is in the broad sense, touching on the wider art world not just graphic design, the theories, and philosophies, when the term was first coined etc. Why it happened, what caused it to happen? Why it is difficult to define as a movement, why some people believed it didn’t exist – begin to bring in the notion that it never ended and that in fact we are now living in a post-post modern time – Simulacra and Simulation – Jean Baudrillard – brief description of this theory; it seems that the genealogy of postmodern art can only be disconnected from the modern in theory. Theory is not in this sense a culmination but a negation, literally, an end of art. The extreme postmodern conclusion devised by Baudrillard introduces the theory of simulacrum. The representational image-sign goes through four successive historical phrases. He means that the border between art and reality has utterly vanished as both have collapsed into the universal simulacrum. This simulacrum is arrived at when the distinction between representation and reality – between signs and what they refer to in the real world – breaks down. Reality becomes redundant and we have reached a hyper-reality, in which images breed incestuously with each other without reference to reality or meaning. How is it possible to arrive at the nullification of reality, even in theory, and what is the genealogy of a theory that leads to such a radical conclusion?  The four main phases: 1) it’s a reflection of a basic reality 2) it masks and perverts a basic reality 3) it marks the absence of a basic reality 4) it bears no relation to any reality whatever – it is its own pure simulacrum.

Section one – describe the rise of post-modernism and the impact it had graphic design when it first ‘begun’

Section two – describe some of the processes and ethics surrounding post modernism and compare these to modernist ideologies and practices – here I can talk a lot about the concept of pastiche and simulacra

Section three – look in depth at a few significant artists/designers and describe their work in relation to the essay question – discuss stand alone pieces of work which are distinctly post modern and describe their significance

Section four – discuss theories of de-realization and hyper reality – the modern world uses this, therefore movements such as postmodernism are bound to exist as reactions to the chaos of the modern

Section five – discuss the extent to which postmodernism came to and end – here you can talk about post internet art and it’s ongoing presence in the world of art and design – remember to always contextualise and cross reference modernism, as after all, post modernism is always a reaction to the modern – is there now a hybrid of modern & post modern?

Section six - explain how we have arrived at current trends in graphic design with specific emphasis on post-internet art

Conclusion - a grand reading of a few key significant pieces of classic post-modern pieces of design and contrast them with contemporary favourites. In the conclusion you can be more opinionated in your tone of voice and really give your opinion on the matter